Hundreds of shoppers were trapped inside a supermarket for two hours last night during an armed stand-off in Upper Hutt.
Armed offenders squad members were called about 5.30pm to a nearby property in Gibbons St following reports of a domestic dispute that ended with a man being taken
to the Upper Hutt police station.
A gun was recovered when police entered the house.
A staff member at nearby Gillies and Mark Real Estate said police spent a long time trying to coax the man out of the house.
Four roads were closed around the area and commercial properties were asked to keep customers inside and residents to stay in their homes.
Pak 'N Save store owner Michael Kelly said the house was at the back of their carpark.
Police had removed parts of a fence that surrounded the house and were negotiating with someone inside through a megaphone, Mr Kelly said.
He said police had advised the store to keep the 200-plus customers inside to "be on the safe side". Staff were feeding customers whatever they wanted off the supermarket's shelves to keep them calm.
"We've just sat them down, giving the refreshments and food, looking after the kids, it's basically all we could do really," Mr Kelly said.
However, he did let a couple of people leave as they'd told him they had to go home and take medication. "One guy said he wanted to go to the pub so we let him out at his own risk."
- additional reporting: NZPA
